Category: Austria

Herbst Kinsky has advised learning platform GoStudent on its EUR 205 million Series C financing round with DST Global, Softbank, Dragoneer, Tencent, Left Lane Capital, DN Capital, and Coatue participating, among others.

Founded in 2016, GoStudent is a start-up that has developed a learning platform for the delivery of online tutoring. The tutoring is held live in a virtual classroom and booked in a subscription package. In recent months GoStudent has expanded its team to more than 500 employees and twelve offices and launched new locations in Madrid, Athens, Istanbul, and Amsterdam.

According to Herbst Kinsky, “the valuation of the company underlying the round exceeds EUR 1.4 billion. GoStudent has thus successfully completed Series A, B, and C rounds in just over a year. The speed of the financing rounds and the rapid development of the valuation towards becoming a unicorn (i.e. a company with a valuation of over EUR 1 billion) is so far unique in Austrian start-up history.”

Herbst Kinsky has already advised GoStudent on their Series A, last year (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on July 2, 2020), and Series B earlier this year (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on April 7, 2021).

Herbst Kinsky’s team was led by Partner Florian Steinhart and included Attorney Felix Kernbichler and Associates Magdalena Wagner, Beatrice Blumel, and Christoph Ludvik.

Herbst Kinsky did not reply to our inquiry on the matter.

Brandl Talos has advised Allcyte shareholders on the sale of their company to clinical-stage pharmaceutical technology company Exscientia. Cooley LLP and Kunz Wallentin advised Exscientia on the deal.

The transaction remains contingent on regulatory approval.

According to Brandl Talos, “pioneering work by Allcyte has delivered the first clinically validated platform that uses an A.I.-based screening technique to match patients with effective cancer treatments. Therefore, it is possible to select the most promising drug candidates for clinical development to maximize clinical study success rates and patient benefit.”

Brandl Talos’s team included Partner Roman Rericha, Attorney Stephan Strass, and Associate Celine Dobnikar.

Heuking Kuhn Luer Wojtek has advised the Grotkamp family on the acquisition of all shares in Funke Mediengruppe. Schoenherr advised on antitrust aspects of the deal. Milbank advised the Funke Mediengruppe.

Financial details were not disclosed. The transaction remains contingent on regulatory approval.

Funke Mediengruppe publishes twelve regional newspapers in Germany (including Westdeutsche Allgemeine, Neue Ruhr/Neue Rhein Zeitung, Hamburger Abendblatt, Berliner Morgenpost) and more than three dozen women’s magazines and TV guides (such as Hoerzu, Gong, and Bild der Frau).

According to Heuking, “the Grotkamp family – Petra Grotkamp and her children Julia Becker, Nora Marx, and Niklas Wilcke – acquired all shares from the previous co-shareholders of the Schubries and Holthoff-Pfortner family lines, thus taking over Funke Mediengruppe in full.”

Heuking’s team was led by Lawyer Andreas Urban and included Lawyers Roland Reichert, Michael Sorgel, Leonard Urban, Rainer Velte, Beatrice Stange, Jorn Matuszewski, and Michael Neises.

Schoenherr’s team included Partner Franz Urlesberger and Attorney Valerie Ditz.

Herbst Kinsky has advised UPL Europe on its investment in Pixofarm GmbH. Jarolim Partner advised Pixofarm on the deal.

According to Herbst Kinsky, the UPL Group operates globally as a provider of organic crop solutions to “secure the world’s food supply. UPL’s model brings together the various players in the alimentary system – from farmers and food producers to supermarkets and consumers.”

According to the same firm, Pixofarm GmbH is part of company builder Whataventure. The start-up has developed an AI-based solution providing yield monitoring and forecasting data for fruit producers, allowing for the optimization of operational activities.

Herbst Kinsky’s team included Attorneys Christoph Wildmoser and Matthias Konrad.

Jarolim Partner’s team included Partner Martin Kollar and Associate Christiane Feichter.

Schoenherr has advised SiteLog Infra GmbH on the acquisition of the Equipment & Technology Services business unit from Implenia Osterreich GmbH, via an asset deal. Karasek Wietrzyk advised Implenia on the matter.

According to Schoenherr, SiteLog Infra GmbH is part of Zech Group, an international company specializing in construction site logistics and site infrastructure. SiteLog currently has 11 offices, one situated in Austria, with plans of further expanding in the region.

According to the same firm, Implenia is a Swiss construction and real estate services provider for living spaces, working environments, and infrastructure in Switzerland and Germany. Implenia also plans and builds infrastructure projects in Austria, France, Sweden, and Norway.

Schoenherr’s team was led by Attorney Michael Marschall and Partner Roman Perner and included Associate Gabriel Ebner and Attorney Marco Thorbauer.

Karasek Wietrzyk’s team included Partner Raphael Valenta.

Herbst Kinsky has advised Russmedia Equity Partners on the acquisition of 100% of shares in finderly GmbH, which operates the online flea market Shpock, from Norway’s Adevinta. Schoenherr advised the seller.

Financial details were not disclosed. 

Adevinta is an international operator of classified ad portals. Russmedia Equity Partners, headquartered in Schaan, Liechtenstein, is an investor and operator of online marketplaces, aggregators, and SaaS solutions with a portfolio of 19 digital platform companies in six European countries.

Herbst Kinsky’s team included Partner Florian Steinhart and Lawyers Carl Walderdorff, Magdalena Wagner, Christoph Ludvik, and Beatrice Blumel.

Schoenherr’s team included Partners Alexander Popp, Miriam Simsa, Thomas Kulnigg, and Franz Urlesberger, Counsel Gregor Petric, Attorneys Michael Stimakovits, Johannes Frank, and Marco Thorbauer, and Associate Philipp Kalser.

Brandl Talos has advised Contextflow on its Series A financing round from B&C Innovation Investments GmbH as lead investor, new co-investor TTIP Beteiligungs, as well as previous investors Apex Ventures, Crista Galli Ventures, IST cube, Nina Capital, and Novacapital.

Founded in 2016 as a spinoff of the Medical University of Vienna, Contextflow develops deep learning-based software to improve radiology workflows. According to Brandl Talos, the company’s “core technology is a 3D image-based search engine, which detects disease patterns in 3D medical images like CTs and MRs. It is currently being utilized by radiologists on lung CTs, identifying 19 different patterns (including those related to COVID-19), making it the only clinical decision support system of its kind.”

Brandl Talos’s team included Lawyers Markus Arzt and Christina Bernhart.

The firm did not reply to our inquiry about the deal.

BPV Hugel has advised Viennese company Wojnar on the sale of a 74% majority stake to Vivatis Holding AG. Wildmoser Koch reportedly advised the buyer.

The sale took place as part of a closed auction process. The transaction is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2021.

According to BPV Huegel, “Wojnar has a wide range of products in the fresh and refrigerated convenience business area with a strong focus on innovations and development trends (organic, vegan, sustainable, and healthy nutrition).”

BPV Huegel’s team included Partners Thomas Lettau, Gerald Schachner, Nicolas Wolski, Kornelia Wittmann, and Gerhard Fussenegger, Attorneys Roland Juill, Paul Pfeifenberger, Stanislav Nekrasov, and Lukas Hora, and Associates Tamara Tomic and Daniel Zahourek.

Schoenherr has advised Credendo on the cross-border merger of their Austrian stock company into a Belgian group company, advised by Linklaters.

According to Schoenherr, Credendo is one of Europe’s largest credit insurance groups, based in Belgium with locations in 14 countries across Europe. It collected a total value of EUR 330 million in insurance premiums and the value of their insured transactions was EUR 87 billion in 2018.

Schoenherr’s team was led by Partner Roman Perner and Attorney Michael Marschall and included Counsel Stefanie Aichhorn-Woss, Attorneys Matthias Pressler and Marco Thorbauer, and Associates Gabriel Ebner and Tobias Hayden.

DLA Piper has advised Austrian research and development company Bionic Surface Technologies GmbH on its joint development agreement with the Nikon Corporation regarding research and development of riblet technologies. Freshfields reportedly advised Nikon on the deal.

According to DLA Piper, “riblets are specially manufactured surface structures, only a few micro or nanometers in size, whose origin lies in nature itself and has evolved over millions of years: sharks have fine grooves on their skin, the riblets, which allow them quick and energy-efficient movement.” According to the firm, “in technical applications – for example aviation, sports, or wind turbines – the implementation of riblets on flow-relevant points results in considerable advantages over smooth surfaces, such as increased efficiency, lower fuel consumption or a lower noise level.”

DLA Piper’s Vienna-based team was led by Partners Sabine Fehringer and Maria Doralt and included Counsel Johanna Hoeltl and Senior Associate Christoph Schimmer.